Ariel and the Dark Garden
by Wrathofbalance2
Summary: Ariel's lost it all; her freedom, her hopes, and dreams to the sea-witch Ursula. Now, she must try to get it back against all the odds. But in the midst of her torment she's not alone. her friends are there to help her cause all the way!
1. The Dark Garden

**I wrote this story for the sakes of helping my own writing. I've been having trouble writing lately and so I've decided to try and take some heavy measures so I can fix my writer's block. So for the new few weeks I'll be writing pretty unrelated stories that go into clear character motivations so that I can start writing properly for Little Waterbender. This is the first of those.**

**I could continue this tale, but for now I just consider it a short side-story that could be updated every now and then.**

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><p><strong><span>Ariel and the Dark Garden<span>**

Ariel woke up with dizzying start. Her head felt heavier than usual, and her body felt as stable as an underfed sea sponge. She opened her eyes to get a glimpse of her surroundings, but that proved no use; her vision was blurred. All she could make of the area was that there sure was a lot of purple and black.

It all seemed vaguely familiar, but Ariel just couldn't wrap her finger around, "why". Speaking of fingers, what was wrong with her arms? They felt almost nonexistent on her shoulders. With the way things were going, she might as well have been a plant! Of course, that was silly, why would-

And then something caught her attention. The strange, almost alien, sound of moaning and groaning seemed to light up in her ears. -Sure didn't feel like she had ears either. - She turned around to face the noises and was caught surprised to see the purple and black disrupted by a large mass of green and yellow!

What in the world was all this? Did giant stalks of ugly flowers sprout under the sea, aiming to infest and multiply? They were everywhere! Well, whatever they were, they sure didn't seem pleasant. It seemed as if the screams were coming from the inside of the stalks. Ariel's curiosity always got the better of her in these situations, so she chose to move a little closer to inspect for herself. However, Ariel didn't get far before she was stopped. It felt as if something had yanked her tail backwards. She looked back to inspect what held her down, but was left surprised when she noticed she had no tail.

All too strange; what in the world was going on? Her arms felt nonexistent, her head weighed like mass of rocks, and her tail was missing. What happened to her?

But before she could properly reflect on her situation, a voice spoke from behind.

"Well I'll be! She's awake!"

Ariel turned her head towards the stalks again. By then her vision had improved, and she had a better understanding of what they were. The flowers; the things; they weren't flowers at all! They were… polyps! Dozens; no, hundreds! No, there were thousands of them everywhere! Their shriveled up, green, corpse-like bodies wriggled in place, as they seemed to decorate every inch of the room Ariel was in.

Oh god! Oh god! Just the sight of their green, oozing skin made Ariel want to gag! Oh they were so disgusting!

She fell into a desperate panic and tried to get away from them, but found herself being pulled back by the invisible force again. She looked towards the area where her tail should've been and desperately searched for what was pulling her backAfter a few seconds of panic she stopped moving. Her eyes bulged wide open when she beheld what was in front of her. Her body was no longer that of a slender mermaid's, but a tube-like plant, firmly nestled into the ground.

Ariel had become a polyp.

She gasped to herself and looked to the shrunken mess that was her body. What had been a strange awakening was slowly turning into a living nightmare, and Ariel couldn't understand why. What did she do to deserve this?

"Yes; that's what the common reaction most people have when they wake up," spoke the voice. "Of course, spending thirteen hours looking down isn't going to help your predicament any further, so I suggest you look up."

In response to the voice, Ariel did as she was told and looked towards the other polyps. By then a good majority of them were just staring at her, with a strange hint of intelligence and reason hidden behind their sad faces.

The polyp who called out to her before was exceedingly hideous. He had two little eyes hidden inside his abnormally large sockets glaring at Ariel with a strange fascination. His nose was non-existent, and he had a drooping mouth that seemed to reach the ground.

When he and Ariel's eye met face, his face seemed to warp and twist in strange ways, almost as if he was attempting a smile.

"My apologies," he chuckled nervously with a throaty voice. "It's hard to smile when you have no teeth. But I bid you welcome either way, my princess. What does that make, number two-thousand?"

"I think we passed two-thousand weeks ago," cried one polyp in the crowd.

"You're daft! We haven't even gotten to nineteen-hundred," exclaimed another.

"What do you know, chum face? Your eyes are almost inside out!" That was yet another.

Immediately, the whole throng of polyps went into a mass of arguments and threats. For Ariel, it was almost like watching a political debate in her father's throne room, except less petty and more on topic.

"Silence! Silence everyone!" Almost immediately the polyps quieted down to a hush as his voice boomed. "We can have this discussion later, but right now we have other matters on our lobes. This poor mermaid lass needs some explanation about her predicament, because the look on her face definitely suggests such. Then again who here doesn't have a frown like that?"

Some polyps chuckled and hissed to each other as Ariel gazed around in confusion. What was her predicament indeed? She couldn't remember a thing of what had been happening to her recently, only that she had fallen asleep and woke up in this… in this…. Where was here exactly?

Ariel couldn't think straight. Her mind still felt hazy with strange thoughts, and her head was still spinning.

She spun around to get a better look at the purple and black room from before. Everything had gained definition and detail; enough for her to interpret the area at least.

It was a massive room shaped like the rib cage of some tremendous beast. In the middle of it all was a great black cauldron that would spew small streams of pink wisps. To the right hand side was a vanity with a mirror, shelved with different assortment of makeup, combs, and other such things. To the left there was a shelf hanging on the wall above, though it was closed, so Ariel couldn't see what was in it. Then, to the far, far back of the room was a corridor leading further into the skeletal beast. However, that corridor was blocked by a large shell over the entrance to it. Although Ariel couldn't see the inside, she could definitely feel some terrible power within. She turned away and faced back to the elderly sounding polyp, whose face had hardened.

"Yes, it's rather unnerving isn't it my dear. Inside that shell is our captor, and warden. You know her; Ursula, the sea witch."

That name instantly struck a cord in Ariel's mind, calling forth strange memories which she couldn't quite place in her life.

The polyp continued to speak over her thoughts, "What you're experiencing right now is a short term memory loss; a common effect in the first few minutes of awakening, but it will fade shortly. Now, there's no need to explain your name, because we all know who you are. And there's no need to explain all of ours just yet, for names are precious things when you're reduced to something like this. Now then, if you want to sur-"

Before he could say anything more, the polyp was quickly interrupted by another, younger sounding polyp. "General! She's waking up!"

The polyp Ariel would refer to as, General, looked towards the other and gave an exasperated groan. "Now? Bah. I don't need this; oh well."

He turned his head back to Ariel and began to speak again, but with a slight whisper in his voice. "Now listen up, little one. What you're about to experience now will be the most painful thing you ever could ever have happen in your now long life. Stay tall and don't falter. It only gets easier from now on."

He said no more. He quickly shifted his gaze away from Ariel and towards the space behind her. That's when Ariel noticed that many of the other polyps were acting strange. Some were burying their heads into the ground, and others were slinking behind other polyps. It seemed almost as if they were attempting to hide.

Ariel spun herself around and looked to the room where everyone's attention was directed. She could definitely feel something was coming, and it was coming from that shell in the back. Oh wow; she didn't know if it was anticipation or that strange power from earlier, but for some reason, Ariel was afraid.

After a few minutes of nothing, Ariel saw something stick itself out of the shell. It was a great, black, inky tentacle, slithering itself out of the shell like a serpent. Then another came out, followed by four more! They seemed so menacing, yet so slick; Ariel couldn't help but feel intimidated and entranced by the smooth and hypnotic motions of each.

It wasn't long until the tentacles were followed up by a body. And what a body it was! Huge wouldn't even describe what Ariel saw. The was that of a large, (and rather fat), cecaelia female. And not even a straightfoward definition could explain her face proper. Loud, sly, grand; there were so many other words, but Ariel chose, "drama queen". She looked to the polyps with a large, sinister smile, and an eel-like gaze.

"Good morning, my little sucklings." She dropped to the ground with a muffled thud and began to move towards the polyps. "How are you all feeling? I hope you had a restful night, because I certainly slept divinely!"

As she veered closer and closer, Ariel began to feel her body tingle with a horrible stinging sensation that seemed to increase with every slither. And by the time Ursula stopped in front of the polyps, the pain was near unbearable.

Ursula clasped her hands together and looked at every polyp present, but especially focused her gaze on Ariel, whom she gave an especially devilish smirk.

Ursula then bent down and placed one of her claw like fingers under Ariel's chin. The pain was literally sizzling! It was like being left to dry on a sandy beach with no way of escape! How she pleaded and begged in her mind for Ursula to get away! But she wouldn't budge; all Ursula did was cackle in glee as she watched Ariel writhe in place.

"Welcome to my garden dear princess, I hope you enjoy your lodgings, because you're my permanent caller. And don't worry about your voice. I'll be taking good care of it, by putting it to better use than you ever did!"

After one last chuckle, Ursula got up from her position and blew a kiss to the polyps before swimming away towards her cauldron. Thank god! When she left, Ariel felt as if a huge weight had lifted from her shoulders. But something else happened that Ariel didn't expect; her memory, it came back!

She remembered everything, from the moment she came to Ursula's grotto, to the final hour when she was transformed. She remembered the exact conversation between her father, King Triton, and Ursula as they dueled terms…

_ "Let me be brief Triton, I am a woman of high integrity. I don't settle for any less than what I want."_

_ "So then why do you want my daughter Ursula? If it's me you're after then leave her out of this!"_

_ "Oh no; my dear Triton, you don't understand. It's not you I specifically want, or your kingdom. What I want most of all is to know you're suffering. The kingdom will come to me when it's right, but your torment; Oho; that is a just payment for all the years you've put me through banishment!"_

_ "…"_

_ "Yes, continue your silent treatment Triton, but know that time is running out! You'll have to choose eventually: You're daughter, or you?"_

She remembered his silence at that moment, as he directed his eyes towards her. Grey bags had formed under them, and it seemed as if he was shouldering the weight of the world. Ariel couldn't bear to look at them for long before guilt caught up to her. And it was that same guilt that told her, his choice was right.

_"…I'm sorry Ariel; I can't risk it. My people need me, and I can't let them be subjected to what would come if Ursula was in power. I'm so sorry, but I can't."_

She remembered him swimming away; his head hanging downwards, and a saddened Sebastian following behind. Afterwards, all Ariel could remember was Ursula's smile.

_"So be it… Triton..."_

After that, it was a faint blur.

"So you've had your first taste of what Ursula does to us. It's not a pleasant occurrence."

Ariel snapped out of her trance and turned around to face General. His face was stern with anxiety, and his eyes widened.

"Well; you'll get used to it eventually my dear, though many wish they weren't. Now where was I? Ah, yes. In order to properly survive your time here, you'll need to be careful with your information and how often you spread it. Nothing is more precious to one than their personal information."

Ariel opened her mouth in an attempt to respond, but found that nothing was coming out but the faint sounds of her breath. And it wasn't until after the third attempt, it came to her. She had no voice! In the rashness of her first visit to Ursula's lair she had idiotically given it away. Oh bloody hell! How stupid was that? She could have at least tried haggling with Ursula, but no! She just had to give it away! Stupid, catchy, song…

General was quick to notice Ariel's muteness, and his face seemed to darkened with realization. "So you can't speak? This is troubling. The mind can't give you solace forever; you'll eventually be like them…"

He muttered to himself for a long time, mostly about eerie things that unnerved Ariel to no end. Eventually he stopped and gave Ariel a hard, concentrated stare.

"Well then," he spoke grimly. "It seems that I'll have to take drastic measures for the sake of your sanity. My name is General Senders, but everyone else addresses me as, "General". Everyone talks to me, and I talk to everyone, but from now one if anyone wants to talk to me, they'll have to speak to you first, in which you'll report them to me. You're my private, you understand? Private Ariel. That is as much as I can offer you."

Ariel didn't really understand what General meant but she took his offer with as much gratitude she had. She attempted to bow, but found herself stumbling beneath the weight of her own head.

He chuckled slightly at her failed attempts to bow, but showed considerable enough respect to thank her. "You'll get the hang of it soon enough, my dear, but I appreciate you're effort soldier. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to spread the word of your promotion. Why don't you spend your time getting to know a few of the others? Maybe if you're lucky, some of them will tell you why they're here."

And with that, he disappeared below ground, all without leaving a single mark. So there Ariel was again; alone as a fish out of water.

Her time alone was short lived though, as it was only a few minutes later that someone began to address her.

"Just like the General; always in a rush to be everywhere without giving a single clue about what's going on."

Ariel looked to see who it was. As if there was any doubt, it was another polyp. He was a revolting one, with two bulging eyes that stuck out of his head and a disfigured mouth. But oh, who was Ariel kidding? Their forms were supposed to be revolting. Ariel even bet that she was revolting! There was no point on commenting on how revolting everyone else was.

Although the newer polyp didn't look all too different from the others, he certainly sounded different. His voice was not hoarse, or crude, but what most people would call average. From her guess, he was once a young merman of say, eighteen or twenty years. Like General before him, he had a very awkward smile decorating the majority of his face.

"Well, you don't need to worry a thing Ariel. If there's every a question to be answered, Toren is your poly- I mean merman." He seemed to blush slightly, (if the paler shade of green around his cheeks was any identification), before clearing his throat.

"Right then, I'd suppose you'd like the low-down of the situation eh? (Just nod for yes; we don't need long flashbacks for this.)"

Ariel nodded slightly, making sure to be mindful of her head.

"S'alright then," exclaimed Toren. "You see, when the General talks about things like, "information" and the like, blah-blah-blah, he's referring to a person's past. The whole withholding thing is just a suggestion of his, because he doesn't want people's information to become stale. Since most of us expect that we're going to be here indefinitely, we don't want to wear out our memories and their worth by gabbing on and on about them."

As he spoke, Toren would make several exaggerated faces in response to his words. It was almost like watching the court jester back at the palace, but Ariel wasn't too concerned with those memories. She was more worried about the thought of staying a polyp indefinitely! That is not a pleasant thought for anyone to think of.

"We know what happens when memories lose their worth…" Toren's face darkened, and his voice quieted down. "I bet you saw them; the plants at the front, front entrance?"

Ariel wasn't exactly sure what he meant, but nodded her head for the sake of continuing the conversation.

"Yea; those guys and gals weren't so lucky. They would continuously remind themselves of who they were, day in and day out. The more they did it though, the more miserable and downtrodden they became, until eventually they all grew sick of their memories and chose to accept their fates. It wasn't long after that they stopped talking, their eyes disappeared, their mouths shut, and they stopped moving on their own. What little they had of their former selves was gone, and all that was left was a bunch of plants."

Ariel felt her throat dry. Her eyes darted immediately to the entrance tunnel. Somewhere, far beyond her vision, was a group of polyps who lost everything that made them who they used to be; and for that they were doomed to be emotionless plants. What a horrifying thought.

"You're actually pretty lucky Ariel. The General did you a big favor by appointing you as his secretary. Even if you don't have a voice, people are still gonna talk to you at least. You just gotta make sure to treasure those memories of yours, and you'll keep your mermanity. And don't worry; if anytime you want someone to talk to you on slow days, you can always come to Toren and he'll gladly help."

Ariel looked to Toren and attempted to smile. – General was right, it was hard without teeth. – She was grateful for the kindness he showed her. And it definitely made her feel hopeful for the future. Of course, whatever that future was, she wasn't sure.

Toren laughed and attempted a smile as well, although he only ended up with a half smile. He was definitely going to be an interesting character to hang around with.

**ooo**

Later that day, Ariel took some time to think to herself. In what seemed like a blink of an eye, her life had turned upside-down; from a princess who lived in a palace, to a little plant stuck to the ocean floor. What was worse was that she was in the clutches of her father's worst enemy, and she only had herself to blame. She let Ursula get the better of her emotions and paid the price. But in the bottom of her heart, she knew Ursula wouldn't stop there.

Who would be next; her father, her friends, sisters, the kingdom? No! She wouldn't allow it. Ariel may have made a mistake before, but she wasn't about to let the ones she loved suffer more for it.

Somehow; some way, Ariel intended to make things right. But for the time being, she had to be patient and get used to what could be her indefinite new life.

** TO BE CONTINUED?**


	2. The Thief and The Polyp

**Check down at the bottom of the page for instructions for a little competition I'm holding.**

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><p><strong>The Thief and the Polyp<strong>

Two days… it had been two days since the incident on the wedding barge. And for two days, Eric was restless. During the day, he was plagued with thoughts of guilt and worry; at night, he was torued with dreams of despair. All the while, he carried the weight of that sunset day on his shoulders.

How could he have been so stupid? He was so obsessed with finding the girl with the golden voice that he failed to realize that Ariel was the one. He thought she seemed familiar on the beach, but he just couldn't look past her silence. And because of his obsession he let himself be duped by that, monster -thing- whatever it was.

Eric would pace around his quarters for hours on end. His back was bent, and his head hung low, but his ears remained open. They remained open for new; any news, just so long as Ariel was involved.

It seemed hopeless; how could anyone find one person in such a wide, open ocean? More likely than not, Ariel was already dead, and Eric's search was even more fruitless. That's what his brain told him at least.

But despite all the odds, Eric chose to continue forth. Whenever his brain said she was dead, his heart would come in and scream, "She's alive!" Eric was willing to listen to his heart until the bitter end. And with the way things were going, it would lead him to his end.

As he paced around, a knock came at the door.

"Come in." Eric spoke with a sigh.

It was Grimsby, Eric's most trusted counselor since birth. No doubt he was visiting to check up on Eric, while at the same time convince him to call off the search.

"Good evening Eric," said Grimsby; he fiddled with his fingers as sweat beaded down his face. "I came up to check on you; see if you're well and-."

"I know why you're here Grim," said Eric as he laid his arms on the wall. "I'm not stopping."

Grimsby placed his palm to his face and said, "But Eric you've been at this for two days; don't you think you would have heard something by now? Just look at what this has done to your health! You don't eat, and you barely sleep!"

"I'm sorry Grim, but I've got to do this!" Eric turned towards Grimsby and crossed his arms in steady defiance.

"…But, why?" Grimsby's voice seemed to tremble as he spoke.

Eric didn't reply instantly. He took a moment to pace around the room while he searched deep within his heart for the best answer he could give. There was none. The only answer possible was the most reckless one; the one that many would say was mad. It was the only answer he knew.

"Because," slowly spoke Eric, as his heart beat furiously. "I love her…"

The only real answer…

**ooo**

Ariel slowly opened her eyes and got a look at the world around her. Nothing changed; there were still the same polyps everywhere, and she was trapped with them in the lair of her father's worst enemy. What a shame too, she had such a lovely dream last night, about being back in the human world with Eric, and her father making peace with them that was to last centuries. Just the memory left her back aching.

Oh well; there wasn't much Ariel could do about it anyways. She was stuck to the ground after all. Might as well get up and face the day. Of course, she had to get up first.

Ariel took a deep breath and poured all the strength she had into pulling up her enormous head! It wasn't until after two minutes of fruitless effort that she finally managed to get it upright. What a thing to be curse with. At least the polyps that were just heads in the ground didn't have to do this menial task every time they fall asleep or lost balance.

When she finally had regained her bearings, Ariel took a quick glance around the area. The other polyps were too busy with their own business to notice Ariel. Some were sleeping , others were screaming for help, and some of the quieter polyps were whispering things Ariel felt that she shouldn't hear. None of them seemed the ones she was looking for though; the person she wanted to see was-

"A-TEN-HUT, PRIVATE," came a powerful shout from behind.

Ariel's body stiffened immediately, and her eyes seemed to pop out of her head. When she had a moment to calm down though, she took her chance to see who commanded the voice

Who else could it have been, but General Senders? He was a polyp who sported a large handlebar moustache, -which was more of a tentacle in his form, but that's beside the point.- It covered up the majority of his facial features, save his eyes which seemed to shrink inside the darkness of his sockets.

He had been the first polyp Ariel had really got to meet when she first transformed into one. Though he offered little in the way of explanations, he did seem to show care and interest towards Ariel's predicament. He even went so far as to offer Ariel a secretarial job as his personal, which he hoped would be a deterrent to protect Ariel from what many polyps considered, "a fate worse than death."

"I see you're bright and alert today. A good soldier is ready for anything. I hope you're prepared, as this will be your first day on the job, so I want to break down some ground rules." As he spoke to Ariel he kept his posture tall and lean, (as was possible with no steady vertebrae).

Ariel nodded her head slightly. She wasn't sure where this was going, but it sure didn't sound easy.

"Alright then," he said with a stiff tone. He then quickly cleared his throat before beginning his rant. "The first thing about this job is that, in order to properly address the folks who like to talk to me, you need spunk. From what I can see in your eyes, you've got a lot of that. However, normally you would also need a voice; so the conditions will need to change. If they ask for me, I want you to pay attention to everything about them; their tone, body language, eyes, and such, and such. If you trust them, you must escort them to me. If not, then give them a stern look in the face and turn away. Second: If you need to find me, I can be usually found in the entry way unless I have business in the other layers, in which I shall tell you when I do. And third, but not least (only applicable for today): If Mallo comes looking for me to complain about how I cheated on game night, I want you to give him your best war face as a sign that he can kiss my-"

But, before General could finish, a voice from behind cut off his sentence.

"General! You're talking a mermaid!"

Ariel recognized that youthful voice. It was Toren; the second polyp Ariel met, and the closest person she had to a real friend in the garden. Unlike General, his pale golden eyes eyes bulged out of his sockets, and his mouth constantly kept a smile in place of facial hair. That is, if it could be called a smile. Ariel just couldn't get over how much it unnerved her to seem him do that. A polyp's default facial feature was either a frown or a deeper frown. A smile just seemed unnatural; as it made Toren's face look almost as if it were collapsing in on itself, making the already hideous complexion of polyps intensify ten-fold. But despite the glaring fault, Ariel enjoyed his company well enough.

General seemed none too pleased with Toren's interruption though. The moment he laid eyes on the boy, he stern expression turned absolutely stone-faced.

"Hmph, how dare you interrupt my lesson, you impudent delinquent?" As he spoke, General's eyes began to sink deeper into his sockets.

"These are important matters that must be discussed. There is no time for your tomfoolery."

But Toren continued to smile even as he responded. "Don't pop a vein General. You already told Ariel what you know; it's not as if the job gets any more complicated than that."

"What? I'll have you know that strict protocol is very important. It instills discipline…"

While Genereal spent his time ranting, Ariel took the chance to steal a glance towards the main hall of Ursula's lair. Nothing had changed since yesterday. It was still the same cold, dreary, gloomy hobble she remembered seeing yesterday, with only one key difference: Ursula was asleep in her throne.

Ursula… just the thought of that name made Ariel's blood boil. No one else could inspire such hatred in Ariel's heart, but why wouldn't she? Ursula stole dreams, and was a coward too! She'd find victims when they were at their weakest state of mind and would lure them into her clutches by offering them their hearts' desire, knowing they wouldn't refuse her! Then when they felt closest to achieving their goals, she'd show up and ruin everything; pulling them down into the abyss they were already hanging over the moment they signed the contract! That woman deserved no quarter for such horrifying crimes! Banishment was too good…

Well, Ariel wasn't going to stand it. She promised herself that she would find a way to make things right, and she intended to make do on such. But, the probability of doing such was incredibly unlikely at that point. Ariel was a shriveling little plant stuck to the ocean floor, who couldn't even move if she wanted to, while Ursula remained herself; staying on the constant alert whenever she was awake to do so. It just wasn't fair!

Oh well, Ariel had time on her... lobes(?) to think of something. It would come to her eventually. So with the weight of defeat on her mind, Ariel turned back towards the others; General had just finished his lengthy rant by then.

"…And those are the facts. So tell me, youth: what good reason is there for me to not divulge my wealth of information upon my soldier?"

And to that, Toren said, "Because every second you waste here gives you less time to hide from Mallo."

Ariel felt her body twitch, and in less than a minute she found herself coughing hysterically. General's face was left blank in the wake of the logic.

After a few seconds of silence, General cleared his throat and began to speak, "Um, well, you drive a hard bargain lad. Private Ariel! I'll be seeing you later."

Without warning, General disappeared into the floor, leaving behind no marks of his stay. That's when it hit Ariel. How did it do that? She remembered seeing him do it yesterday, but she was too flustered to even ask him. Agh, but it was too late; General was already underground.

But wait… Toren wasn't. Ariel spun towards Toren and attempted to speak, but color her surprised when she remembered she had no voice. Ursula! Couldn't that witch have been bothered enough to at least give her back her voice? It seemed there was only one option left…

Ariel shook herself frantically in front of Toren, and immediately caught his attention. Ariel then began to twist her body in a corkscrew fashion until she was forced to let go. When she did, she was sent spinning out of control, and the world seemed to keep spinning; even when she stopped. Toren's expression however, was purely blank.

"Is this a game of charades?" He titled his head to the side. "I never was the best at this."

Ariel tried twisting herself again, but she could only go halfway before she had to let go.

Toren's expression was purely blank. "You… want to spin right round?"

Oh, what was the use? It's not as if Ariel had hands to motion with. All she had was… was…; what were these things, anyways? They looked like little, jellyfish stingers that were cut off. Oh, but back to the matter at hand; Ariel had to think of some way to get her message through, but how?

Wait; that was it. Without a second to spare, Ariel dropped her head to the ground and began to spin it on the ground in a drill like fashion.

After a moment of silence, Toren's face lit up with revelation. "Oh, you want to know how to dig! General didn't tell you?"

After going through the menial task of lifting her head up again, Ariel shook it slightly.

Toren chuckled to himself and smiled as he made his reply. "Go figure the man wouldn't do that. Well don't worry about it Ariel; it's not that complicated it, just follow my lead. First, you've got concentrate on finding feeling in your roots, and tell them to move. Like so."

Shortly after Toren finished his sentence, Ariel spotted tentacles rising from the ground beneath him. They were only small green tendrils that barely got an inch out before returning to the ground.

"Now you try," he said with an lengthy grin.

Ariel nodded slowly then looked down to the ground. Roots? She had roots? Well, that wasn't all too implausible, she guessed; she was a plant after all. Ok, so, concentrate on finding feeling in her roots. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, concentrating on the lower regions of her plant-body. Yes, yes! There they were! Ariel could feel her roots; and what a disgusting sensation it was. It was similar to when she had legs, only this time each leg was a slimy, boneless tentacle with little to no muscle strength. She might as well have had strings attached to her and they'd still seem more useful than her current lower appendages!

Oh well, beggars can't be choosers; especially when sea witches are involved. Ariel quickly put her feelings of discomfort and disgust to the side as she concentrated on the matter of moving her roots. It took a moment to really get a sense of feeling in the tentacles, and it was even harder trying to move them around, as the soil itself seemed to bar her path. But Ariel was stubborn; she continued to struggle relentlessly as the hardened ground attempted to push her back! Slowly, just ever slowly... yes. Yes! Ariel finally did it; she had conquered!

One tentacle popped out, and barely made a centimeter before falling back into the ground.

Ariel's cheeks flushed light green as her success quickly spat in her face. She looked up to Toren who remained silent, but continued to keep his crumbling smile.

After a moment of awkward silence Toren spoke, his voice seeming on the verge of a laugh. "It seems we've got a long way to go. Well, we have time; it's still is early in the day."

For the next few hours, Ariel continued to practice and hone her digging skills. It wasn't easy on her, as her newer body made the task almost like learning a second language. Each movement was unnatural and distorted, and often left Ariel tripping up badly. But whenever Ariel did mess up, she would have to look towards the main hall to remind herself of her goal.

_ I won't give up! I won't give up!_She continued to chant that same mantra throughout the entire training session.

Eventually Toren stopped the session for a breather, then he said to Ariel, "Well, well, you've got spunk don't you? Well, let's see that spunk put to the test. Dig underground, and stay down there for as long as your heart can stand."

Ariel panted heavily, but managed a slight nod. Then she looked to the ground and gulped. The session had mostly consisted of small exercises that involved Ariel digging down for only a few seconds, and the length she would dig was usually up to her head, but this time Toren asked her to go in full! She shuddered a little at the thoughts of the darkness, below, but manage to repress that thoughts with a reminder of why she took up this practice.

Ariel took a moment to release her breath, closed her eyes, and proceeded to concentrate... concentrate... concentrate. Then at last, Ariel stopped. She felt that she had hit something rough; too rough for her puny roots to even consider touching. So Ariel chose to open her eyes to behold...

Nothing. There was nothing.

Ariel was alone in a pit of utter darkness, enough to seem like it was swallowing her tiny body whole. And, along with the darkness, came the horrible feeling of claustrophobia build up, as Ariel felt unable to move in the earthy tomb.

After two minutes, she could stand it no longer. She closed her eyes shut and immediatly concentrated on going up, up, up!

When Ariel returned to the surface she opened her eyes and was greeted by a laughing Toren, "You look like you've seen a ghost!" He laughed relentlessly as Ariel panted heavily, her cheeks growing paler.

Eventually Toren calmed down and spoke in a normal tone again, "It was hard my first time too. The darkness can be really unsettling when it surrounds you like that, but that's the thing you've got to get used to. I'm still impressed you did two minutes! Not many guys here had the bravery you have their first time!"

As Toren complimented Ariel, she felt the chest-like area of her body extend, and her head rose upwards with a twisted grin on her face as well. -She'd never get used to that.- It was pretty brave of her to last so long on her first try, and she didn't really blame the others for panicking faster than her on their first times. Being a polyp was an unnerving experience after all; the world seemed more imposing when you were the size of kelp, and you felt so fragile. To an extent, being trapped in Ursula's grotto was a pretty good thing for their predicament; at least they didn't have to worry about the more curious creatures of the sea nibbling on them. Wait, what was she thinking? It was Ursula's fault she was in this mess!

Ariel quickly snapped out of her vision and returned to reality to be greeted by Toren once more.

He lowered his head and widened his mouth to grin once more. "Getting a little over confident are we," he chuckled deeply. "Well then, don't think I'm out of tricks yet; let's see how you handle this next technique-"

Suddenly, a shrill voice cut him off, "Toren!"

Toren turned in every direction; his smile having disappeared and replaced with a slight frown. He was only turning for a few seconds before noticing the polyp calling to him was behind.

"Oh, it's you Mallo," said Toren with a soft tone. "What do you want?"

"Could you come over here Toren? I need to talk to you!"

Toren lowered his head and sighed. Then he turned to Ariel and said. "I'll be right back Ariel; and when I am, you'd better be ready for your next lesson.

Ariel nodded and gave Toren as heartfelt a smile she could, but when he turned away, the smile turned into a frown. Slowly Ariel turned her head towards Ursula's throne. There wouldn't be another lesson, because Ariel intended to finish this right here and now.

She closed her eyes slowly and concentrated...

**ooo**

Go figure Mallo would waste my time like that," muttered Toren to himself as he dug his way through the bony substance he was directly attached to.

Toren didn't like it when people bothered him for nothing, and Mallo always had a tendency to do that. Heck, Toren wondered why he bothered going up to him in the first place; it was more than a little obvious who he was looking for. If he wanted to find General so bad he should have just gone immediately to the front entrance; the bum always hung out there whenever he wanted to avoid being found. Besides, it wasn't even his job to tell people that; it was Ariel's; then again, being mute played a part in that ordeal.

Before Toren could think of anything else, he was wrenched away from his thoughts by reality. He almost passed by the practice area, Ariel was. Immediately he rose up from the ground and sighed when he found no Ariel in sight.

"And go figure Ariel to just dig off like that."

Toren liked her; she was some of the best company to have around in this ridiculous place; especially since she was one of the few polyps that didn't just complain on and on about how they're innocent, and all that dugong crap. She may have been mute, but she never seemed to let herself be brought down by the grim nature of her situation and that was probably the best quality in any first timer who was transformed into a polyp. She was also a very interested listener. Wait; Toren was losing track of his thoughts again. This was no time for him to be thinking of such random thoughts.

Toren took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He then let his mind connect to the dirt around him. He may not have been able to see Ariel, but he could find Ariel either way. Ursula's grotto may have been dig-able, but the body structure had a particular magic property to it. It would immediately seal any gaping holes that penetrated into the earth, while leaving behind a faint aura of magic that would last about forty-five minutes, that was enough time to find Ariel.

Finding her trail was easy enough; it was the roughest one around. So Toren surveyed the direction of the trail, with a faint chuckle escaping his mouth. He intended to sneak up on Ariel and give her a good scare; would serve her right for ditching him like that.

Suddenly, Toren's smile dissapeared. Ariel was going, far, very far. If he estimated the distance correctly, she would have traversed the first and second layers by then. The curious part however, was that she was heading the opposite way?

"But... where else would she go?"

He continued to follow the trail on and on, but found himself suddenly stopped. He reached the limit his special sight could offer him, it was up to his eyes to determine where she was now. He opened them and gasped when he saw what was in front of him.

"But, why would she-," Toren stopped to think for a moment, letting his thoughts flow with possibilities.

Suddenly he let out a huge gasp and said, "No; she wouldn't be- ARIEL!"

Without a moment to spare, Toren put all his feeling into his roots and began digging...

**ooo**

Ow; Ariel's head thumped with a whump and came out with a lump. Leave it to Ursula to make her throne dig proof so Ariel was forced to be content with hanging on the ceiling. She took a quick survey of her area and found her to be right above Ursula's throne. She made it this far, but now she had to figure out how to get to her target.

Ariel remained suspended in that spot for less than a minute when suddenly an idea came to her head. She a rush of memory, back to her first visit to Ursula's lair; the first time she saw the garden. As she swam over the wriggling pile of polyp, she distinctively remembered the moment when one polyp grabbed her wrist. It had somehow extended its body from the floor to her hand and attempted to pull her back. Try as she might, Ariel couldn't shake the thing off normally; she was forced to rip it away from her wrist, which did the trick. But the important part was that it had extended its body to her!

If Ariel couldn't dig her way to Ursula, then she would stretch! Not even the sea-witch could survive being choked in her sleep. All Ariel needed was to concentrate. She took a deep breath and pulled her body back as far as she could go. She flushed her mind with numerous thoughts of extension and stretching, forgetting everything else that cluttered her brain. She held steady; she was ready... and... SHE WAS OFF!

Ariel leaped forwards with all the might in her body and... made absolutely no progress at all.

Well that was embarrassing; good thing no one was there to see her or she might have blushed ten-fold. Ariel wasn't about ready to give up however; she readied herself once more, and spent more time with preparation.

Immediately, Ariel felt her body begin to twist and turn as she sprung forwards with a horrible cracking noise following her action. The borders of the shell quickly passed her by as she found herself reaching the middle. There, Ariel saw her: Ursula the Sea Witch, fast asleep with a great smile on her face. The aura that Ariel felt the times Ursula approached her was gone, electing a sudden sigh from the polyp. And then something else caught Ariel's eye; something was faintly glowing inside the throne. It was the nautilus locket around Ursula's neck. It was glowing with a beautiful golden light; Ariel's voice. And in the silence of the moment, Ariel thought as if she could hear her voice, still humming it's melodic tune.

After her quick glance of the witch, Ariel was suddenly pulled back towards the ceiling. She landed back without a hitch, but was a little shocked by the force of her pullback.

After a small moment of respite, Ariel tried again, this time aiming to land inside. She launched herself forwards and went into the throne with barely a hitch. Once she touched the walls of the throne, she immediately bit down on it. Though it did hurt her mouth by being scraped by the walls, she managed to overcome it as her body slowly grinded to a halt.

Luckily, Ursula remained asleep, unbeknownst of the assassin attempting to approach her. One bite at a time; Ariel slithered her way closer to Ursula. Closer... closer!

Suddenly, Ariel felt herself being pulled back by a sudden force. She let go of the wall almost immediately, and saw as her quarry escaped from her vision yet again.

This time when she landed, her head made a straightforward collision with the ceiling, impairing her vision. As she attempted to regain her senses, she heard a familiar voice address her,

"You deserved every second of that! Do you realize the immense danger you could have put yourself in if I didn't stop you?"

There was no denying who it was; his voice spoke clear as day, and when Ariel regained her proper vision, his visage became clear.

"I should have known there was a reason behind your fast paced learning," exclaimed Toren, keeping his voice at a minimal level while retaining heavy intensity behind it.

For a moment, Ariel was legitimately surprised that Toren had found her, but there was time to think of that later. What Ariel needed to be concentrating on was finishing her job. She hastily ignored Toren gripe and began to launch herself once more. But before she could even get off to ground, Toren rushed himself over to Ariel and bit her body. As the pain reached her mind, Ariel screamed, at leas, she would have screamed if not for her lack of a voice.

She shook herself violently from left to right, aiming to shake Toren off, but the polyp was incredibly stubborn, and continued to hold on tightly.

"FI'm Frot Fletting oh! (I'm not letting go!)"

They continued their struggle for several minutes; refusing to show any sign of fatigue or weakness. But, then something happened; Ariel noticed something in the direction of the garden. She saw, two grey figures slithering their way towards the inside of Ursula's lair. By the looks of it, they were eels, and as they came closer, Ariel felt less comfortable about their presence.

Suddenly, Ariel felt Toren's hold on her vanish. She turned to face him, and saw that his mouth was hanging wide open.

"I-it's Flotsam and Jetsam," he said with a trembling tone. "Oh no! Ariel; we've got to get below ground or they'll see us for sure."

Flotsam and Jetsam... Flotsam and Jetsam...; OH, Flotsam and Jetsam! Ariel remembered them now. They were Ursula's henchmen, and the ones who manipulated Ariel in the first place. While Ariel didn't like the idea of running, she also didn't like the idea of being caught, so she nodded to Toren and concentrated her roots to dig.

And it wasn't a moment too soon. Flotsam and Jetsam had just reached the main hall when they just got their heads inside the skeleton. Inside the darkness they waited in fear, while eavesdropping on the sinister converse.

**ooo**

"Mistressssss," cried Flotsam, a smooth hiss escaping his mouth.

"We have returned with newssssssss," spoke Jetsam, with the same hiss,.

After a moment of dead silence, a raspy groan emerged from the shell throne, followed by tendrils of tentacles. Then came the hulking body of Ursula, slithering her way out of the darkness of her throne and out into the dim light of her lair. As she came out, she let a great yawn extended from her lips before finally laying her head on the open palms of her hands, which she rested on her tentacles. Her face held a tired smile as she gave a playful wave to Flostam and Jetsam.

"Oh, babies, it's good to see your lovely faces again. Momma's been so worried about you since we cut the connection." She casually blew a kiss to both eels, who greedily accepted it.

Then, Ursula's grin widened as she leaned forwards on her throne, edging herself closer to Flotsam and Jetsam. "So then tell me; what juicy gossip have you managed to dig up for my fair ears to hear?"

Flotsam and Jetsam then proceeded to take turns telling every bit of news they had scrounged up, while Ursula sat on her throne, listening with great intent. They told her many things, state of affairs, new prizes to ensnare, and other such dreadful news. But what easily caught Ursula's attention was the news about King Triton.

Apparently, Triton was feeling under the weather lately. He spoke less often; chose to do business in his quarters and he regularly lost his temper often. Answers and theories were being thrown about everywhere, but no matter how outlandish they seemed, the majority of the all lead to the disappearance of the princess. Although Ursula knew the truth, it still made her happy to hear such cheerful things. If things continued to move at this rate her plans would be realized in less than a month.

As her eels delivered the rest of the news they had to offer, Ursula began to fondle the locket on her neck. Inside she had the princess's voice; well, it was more her voice now than the princess's; after all, the girl gave it away. And besides, the girl didn't need it where she was.

Originally Ursula intended to just place the voice into a bottle and set it on the potion cabinet for later use, but that idea seemed too criminal. In the short time she had it, Ursula grew attached to the beautiful melody of the princess's voice, especially when it helped save her plans from ruin; it seemed too much of a waste to just put it away. Besides, it fit her better than it ever did that tramp of a princess; her beauty went to show for that.

After a short while, Flotsam and Jetsam finished their report and all was silent. Not even the polyps could be heard as Ursula shut her eyes, letting her thoughts absorb her. It wasn't until a few minutes passed that Ursula began to chuckle. It was a deep and rumbling chuckle that echoed out in every corner of the lair with the boom and intensity of thunder.

"Oh this is too rich," she uttered mid-chuckle. "This is too divine! Come dearies, this calls for a celebration! Let's go find a school of salmon and we shall feast like monarchs!"

Smiles came on Flotsam and Jetsam's faces and they hissed in approval. Ursula then dropped down from her throne and fell to the floor with a loud thump. She made a slight hand gesture to her eels before slithering towards her garden. As they passed over the mass of polyps Ursula looked down and grinned. Their screams were such sweet music to her ears, and always made her happy, but in Ursula's glee, she failed to notice that two of her treasures were missing.

**ooo**

After Ursula left, there was silence in the main hall. Nothing but the sounds of rippling water could be distinguished in the eerie darkness, but it wasn't until ten minutes after that Toren and Ariel decided that it was safe to come out of their hiding spots.

They rose up from the ground and panted heavily. Toren's entire body shook uncontrollably as he came to grips with his near death experience.

"Poseidon," he said; his voice cracking. "I've never been so scared since the last time. I think I've discovered several new heartbeat patterns."

And after a moment of inconsistent gibbering and deep breaths, Toren finally managed to calm down. He then turned to Ariel and frowned.

"And as for you," he exclaimed. "Do you-"

Toren stopped; his mouth hung halfway open as he beheld a strange sight. Ariel was shooting black ink from her eyes while her face was a scrunched up into a frown.

Ariel felt as if her heart was dying; never had there been so much pent up emotion swirling in her mind. It was like being trapped in the middle of a maelstrom read to tear you asunder. Her father was still worried for her? After all that happened; after Ariel disobeyed his commands constantly, made a deal with his sworn enemy. And even after he gave her to Ursula for the sake of the kingdom, he was still worried? Why? What did she do to deserve his love?

_It's all my fault. _She muttered that same phrase in her thoughts again and again.

Suddenly, Ariel felt something wrap itself around her. It was Toren. He made his way around Ariel's body and hugged it softly.

"There, there. It's alright; I'm here for you." He repeated the same mantra, over and over again, as Ariel continued to weep her black smog of despair.

She didn't want this to happen...

**ooo  
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Shortly after, Ariel returned to the garden area with Toren, and there she lay deep in thought. She still couldn't get over the idea that her father still worried for her, after all that happened. And that witch! She had the gall to laugh at Ariel's father, even though he still had enough power to rip her blubbery body apart!

_It's just not right. If only I could have finished what I started earlier, then this would all be over, and I could see daddy again and tell him it's ok! If only..._

Suddenly, Ariel was thrust out of her thoughts when she noticed Toren was standing in front of her. He looked down at her and began muttered incoherent words before he had the power to speak up.

"You know... there's a reason I stopped you back there," said Toren. "You're not the first one to try that."

Ariel then turned to him, her face had confusion n it.

"I remember when I tried that trick," he muttered in a low tone as Ariel listened. "It seemed so easy: catch the witch while she's sleeping and end the torment. Imagine my surprise at how I failed. She woke up the second I touched her, and the pain literally surged through my being. She then ripped me out of the wall and prepared me for unbelievable torture, (which I don't want to remember). I didn't want the same to happen to you."

Ariel's eyes bulged out of her skull, and her mouth dropped to the floor. She shook her head slowly and sighed. Her hopes of revenge were dashed away, and her head drooped as low as her spirits.

"You know...," muttered Toren. "I wasn't always the cheery guy I am today."

Ariel lifted her head up again and looked to Toren, whose gaze was completely focused on her.

"I was once a thief; a nasty, bitter, and greedy thief, who had to learn his humility the hard way."

Toren then looked down to the ground and frowned. It was the natural look for a polyp, and it was the thing that looked less awkward than his smiles, but somehow, that just made him seem disturbing. But Ariel listened with great intent; she was about to be told her first backstory...

**OoOoO**

It began long ago. I'd say a few five years back and in a kingdom far from Atlantica known as, Coralitic. I was born a spoiled boy born to a high ranking noble; I got everything I wanted, whenever I wanted it, but I wanted more; more than any rich family could give. So I turned to thievery, but not just any low brow heists to the occasional bank. I was a thief of the rare and wonderful. I longed for the most beautiful things in the world, to fill my hunger. I didn't care who I stole it from.

That's probably why I came to Ursula in the first place.

Five years ago, I was attempting a heist on the most armored museum in the city, with nothing but my fin and my skills. I went over dozens upon dozens of plans to myself and none of them worked. Eventually I grew frustrated, and gave up on my plans. Shortly after, I found myself in a sand bar attempting to filter my woes away. That's when I overheard some guys talking to each other nearby.

They were talking about Ursula.

Apparently rumors had been floating about that she did miracles. Many celebrities in the city actually had a lot of their success to owe to her, and she had a fairly popular reputation. I wouldn't be surprised if some of them were bribed into spreading that good word, but whether they did or didn't wasn't my concern at the time. My concern was that Ursula was the answer to my problems.

So I snooped around and gathered information wherever I could find it. Eventually I managed to find her lair, and let me tell you: her collection was a lot smaller way back when.

So once there, I immediately got to the point and said, 'I want the greatest stealth in the world!' That 's what I said.

Ursula certainly was quick to give me what I wanted, but it came with a price. The terms were simple enough; come back to her lair by sunrise the next day and share part of the cut with her; if I failed to do this, I would be hers forever. I foolishly agreed, and signed the contract that sealed my doom.

Naturally I had no intentions of going back once I had the power, but I chose to keep up my charade, thinking I could fool Ursula and her magic. I was wrong.

On the night of the heist I stole several of the most precious jewels in the world -I can't recall what they were named; Chaos Sapphires? Sol Emeralds?- and made it out of the museum without a hitch. Not a single guard noticed me, and every trick and trap they had employed failed drastically.

I didn't stop with escaping the museum though; I escaped the city too. I intended to make ripples and move to another town, hoping there it would be safe to lay low. So I swam relentlessly though the night, hoping to escape any pursuit behind me, and when I had finally reached the border, it had become sunrise.

I had, maybe, two or three minutes of gloating before I had suddenly found myself frozen in place. I couldn't move a single muscle in my body no matter how much I tried. Then those two snakes appeared and dragged me away.

Afterwards, everything turned black, and when I finally came to, I had become a polyp.

I just couldn't believe the predicament I was in, and I was left absolutely furious at Ursula. I hissed and screamed, and demanded for my release; refusing to blame even a fraction of the situation on me.

After I calmed down, I managed to gather some information from the others; apparently Ursula had gone to Coralitic to return the jewels that I stole. -Another ploy to get good words from the public, and I wouldn't be surprised if it worked.-

So I spent my days here in this garden, listening and learning from the others. However, I was still bitter angry with Ursula, and sought any method to kill her. And like you, I used the same method of attack, but I paid the price, because no one stopped me. I still shudder to remember those horrible methods she used on me.

And In the midst of my torment, I would continuously ask myself, "Why?", "What did I do to deserve this?", and every other sentence of self-pity.

And it wasn't until the end, I finally understood. I understood everything that had happened, was my fault. I let myself be suckered into a deal that seemed too good to be true, and paid the price for such.

**OoOoO**

And after that last sentence, Toren moaned and hunched himself on his body.

"Looking back," he muttered. "This could have been the best thing to ever happen to me. I did a lot of wrong during my time as a merman, and if I ever get out of this mess, I plan to pay back my dues to society. Until then I am content with rotting here."

Toren then looked to Ariel and gave her the sternest face his form allowed.

"And although I hate Ursula, I find that I have to hate myself too, and I find that to be my safest bet."

Ariel didn't nod, or shake her head, she could only shift her eyes away from Toren and sigh.

Toren then spoke once more, this time with a softer tone. "What I'm basically saying Ariel, is not to direct all your hate to one thing; that's a surefire way to get yourself killed."

Ariel wanted to shake her head in retaliation, but quickly found herself nodding slightly. He was right. Ariel didn't to agree with Toren, but he was right. She bent down and let her head fall to the ground flat. And she let it lay there for almost a minute before lifting it up again. When she did, she was greeted by another one of Toren's smiles.

"It could be worse you know," he said with a laugh. "You could be alone here; and who'd ever want that to happen? But so long as I'm here, you'll never be alone. Friends stick together like that."

For a moment Ariel was silent, and she felt her heart begin to ease. Friends stick together. She remembered saying that phrase many times, back when she was still a mermaid. It was such a wonderful saying; so full of hope and wonder, and inspiring the best of the best in her.

Ariel then gave a smile of her own, and attempted to mouth a sentence, hoping that Toren would read her lips.

When she did, Toren gave a tremendous holler and said, "You're always welcome!"

But before anything else could happen, something burst out of the ground beside Ariel and Toren. It was General; his eyes were literally engulfed in his sockets, and his moustache was jagged.

"You confounded delinquent," he sputtered with a loud cough. "You dupe! You sea-rat! You insufferable twit!"

Toren and Ariel tilted their heads to their sides and looked at General quizzically.

"I'm referring to you, thief-boy! You ratted me out, and now I have that hooligan Mallo on my tail!"

Toren's eyes stretched wide in surprise, but then he began to laugh. "Oh wow, you're mad about that? Calm down old man, it's not as if you're hard to find."

"O-o-old man," yelled General, with a hanging mouth. "I'll have you know boy, that I am only sixty-eight; hardly an age I'd refer to as 'old'!"

"Hard to tell with that overgrown nose hair of yours." Toren gave a snide smile as he replied to then furious General.

"O-o-overgrown nose hair," exclaimed the older polyp, his face turning into a darker shade of red. "That does it, no one disrespects my moustache! Come over here and I'll wring your neck into a bow-tie!"

"Whoops, gotta go," exclaimed Toren just before he disappeared below ground with General following after.

As the ordeal went on, Ariel couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably. Yes; yes, Toren was right. She was certainly lucky to have friends like these.

**ooo**

**Author's Notes: Yep, I decided to continue. This will be an on and off project for me that I'll do whenever I want to expand my mind and just write. **

**The hardest parts there were to write was the ending portions and the Eric section (man is that boy bland). A big problem with some of the ending portion is that I couldn't think of how to write particular body expressions, and since the characters have no hands and very strange faces, it's a little hard to write.**

**The ending you see now is different from how I originally planned it. Originally this ending was going to end on a fairly bittersweet note, but then I looked at it again and said, "This is way too depressing." So I changed it.**

**So for the next chapter, I'm thinking of bringing in a new character who can serve as a mouth for Ariel while being relatable to her as well, but I want to have fun with this concept. So I came up with the idea of you guys making the OC. PM me an OC idea and I'll look over it to see which one appeals to me the most.**

**Some requirements- Female gender (it's already a sausage fest in here); should have a back-story she can learn a lesson from after she's become a polyp. Give me list of her personality and traits.**


End file.
